Treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip

Coxarthrosis is a deforming arthrosis of the hip joint.It is a chronic disease characterized by degenerative changes in tissues, damage to cartilage. Symptomatically, coxarthrosis is determined by regular pain and deformity in the hip joint, impaired mobility. The pathological changes are based on cartilage damage and the subsequent inflammatory reaction. In osteoarthritis, the bone tissue is modified. The lesion occurs locally, but other joint joints may be involved. The main contingent of patients are the elderly. Risk factors can include hereditary predisposition, overweight and trauma. Endocrine disorders and metabolic imbalances are found in people with this problem. But the main emphasis in treatment is placed on restoring the structure and function of cartilage. Treatment of coxarthrosis is a long-term process involving anti-inflammatory therapy, the use of chondroitin and glucosamine preparations to supplement joint nutrition, exercise therapy and physiotherapy. Herbal treatment is recommended for maintaining joints at home. Proper diet and moderate exercise are essential.

Symptoms of coxarthrosis

In coxarthrosis, the articular cartilage is subjected mainly to deforming changes. There are 3 stages in the development of the disease. In the initial stage there are no morphological changes in the tissues of the joint. Only its functional viability suffers. A person experiences periodic pain in the joints after exercise, running, walking long distances. After a break, the pain syndrome disappears. In the second stage, the bone begins to deform. The naturalness of the movements is sharply reduced. The pain is intense and often occurs at rest. The third stage is characterized by chronic pain syndrome. The pain worries patients day and night. Walking without a cane is difficult, the person is forced to tilt the body forward. Numerous growths appear on the joint bones.

The main symptoms of osteoarthritis include:

• morning stiffness;
• joint pain;
• difficulty moving more than 1 km;
• increased pain when sitting or standing for a long time.

Podiatrists call coxarthrosis one of the most common types of osteoarthritis. The risk group includes people with obesity, hard physical labor, the elderly. Lack of treatment leads to complete destruction of the hip joint, accompanied by unnatural mobility or complete immobility, as well as severe dysfunction of the lower extremities.

Drug therapy

Treatment of coxarthrosis begins with exercise restriction. It is a long-term process that combines different therapeutic methods: taking anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, intra-articular injections, physiotherapy and exercise.

Features of the treatment of coxarthrosis 1, 2, 3 degrees:

• at the first stage NSAIDs are prescribed to stop the inflammatory process, drugs that normalize metabolic processes, analgesics are also needed, folk remedies are used in complex therapy;
• in the second stage of coxarthrosis, intra-articular injections based on hyaluronic acid are added to the drug therapy, laser treatment and electrical stimulation are performed;
• the third stage is treated in a conservative and operative way, when it is impossible to cope without surgery, joint prosthetics are performed.

Medications play the biggest role. Without anti-inflammatory and supportive agents, dystrophic changes cannot be avoided and persistent pain cannot be eliminated. Doctors prescribe pharmacological agents with various actions to alleviate the condition of patients during exacerbations.

• Medications play the biggest role. Without anti-inflammatory and supportive agents, dystrophic changes cannot be avoided and persistent pain cannot be eliminated. Doctors prescribe pharmacological agents with various actions to alleviate the condition of patients during exacerbations.
• Muscle relaxants. Reduce skeletal muscle tone. The muscles relax, due to which the pain syndrome decreases, the person rests from the pain. These drugs are contraindicated in patients with cardiac arrhythmias.
• Chondroprotectors. Symptomatic preparations containing collagen. They nourish and repair damaged cartilage. They supply the joint with collagen from the outside and stimulate its production by the body. Chondroprotective drugs are taken for a long time. Under the influence of these means the metabolism in the tissues improves, the destroyed cartilage gradually increases. In complex therapy, these drugs are of undoubted benefit, especially in the initial stage of the disease. In chronic osteoarthritis, they delay the damage.

In order to stop the destruction of cartilage tissue and to provide the joint with "lubrication", injections are made with preparations based on hyaluronic acid and synthetic substances, which are similar in composition to synovial fluid. They are extremely compatible with the tissues of the human body. They effectively stop the process of cartilage destruction, have analgesic and chondroprotective effects. Synthetic substances contain silver ions, which give an additional bacteriostatic effect.

Prosthetics

Endoprosthesis is a surgical method for treating the hip joint. When, as a result of coxarthrosis and dysplasia, irreversible effects occur in the cartilage tissues, they resort to joint replacement. As a result of the operation it is possible not only to reduce the syndrome of constant pain, but also to restore the function and mobility of the joint. The artificial joints are made of metal-polyethylene and ceramics. Fixation to the living bone is done in a cement and cementless manner. Endoprostheses are well rooted and can last for decades. But in some cases, the prosthesis wears out quickly, after which a second operation is required.

Physiotherapeutic treatment

The treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip is carried out with complex measures, including with the help of physiotherapy. This direction is related to physical rehabilitation, support of the body during the period of recovery and remission, prevention of exacerbations. Physiotherapy is practiced by orthopedists, traumatologists, rheumatologists, masseurs, exercise instructors.

The following methods are recognized as effective in the treatment of coxarthrosis:

• ultrasound therapy;
• laser therapy;
• inductothermy;
• massage;
• manual therapy.

With ultrasound therapy, high-frequency waves penetrate the tissues and act as a vibration massage. They improve biochemical processes, prevent stagnation, promote better absorption of drugs. Ultrasound reduces inflammation.

Laser treatment dilates blood vessels, stimulates lymph flow, inhibits inflammation and heals tissues. The technique improves tissue trophism, helps preserve the structure and functions of organs.

During inductothermy, high-frequency waves affect the body. The method is effective in the presence of any inflammation and pathology of the musculoskeletal system. Stimulates the immune system, relieves pain and has a regenerating effect.

The massage is hardware and mechanical. Contrary to popular belief, not only the surface layer of the skin and muscles is exposed during the massage. During the work of the masseur, reflex and humoral mechanisms for regulating the internal organs are activated. The combination of a wide variety of massage techniques, the patient receives antispasmodic, tonic, lymphatic drainage and analgesic effects.

A chiropractor works on a person's bones and joints. It relieves tension in some areas, tones others, eliminates pain, restores the functional viability of the joints. First, the doctor applies diagnostic techniques, during which he determines the condition and capabilities of muscles, ligaments, joints. Then move on to treatment. No manual techniques are used during exacerbations and complications.

The role of balneotherapy

Sanatorium treatment is of great importance for coxarthrosis. Medical and prophylactic institutions use mainly natural factors to support people with diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

• Climatotherapy. These are characteristics of the terrain, a combination of meteorological factors, sea water, sun, air. Climatotherapy helps recovery, prevents the development of exacerbations, improves the course of biological and physiological processes in the body. Ideal conditions for the treatment of osteoarthritis are created in areas with high air temperatures and a lot of solar radiation.
• Healing mud. They differ in origin. They are peat, sulfide-sludge, sapropel, hydrothermal. They are characterized by high heat output. They contain mineral, organic, biologically active components that penetrate the skin and have a beneficial effect on the joints. They improve metabolic processes, reduce inflammation and normalize blood circulation.
• Mineral water. Contains trace elements, dissolved salts, biologically active substances. In diseases of the musculoskeletal system, the intake of mineral baths is indicated. The procedures increase mobility, tone, activate blood circulation, improve metabolism.
• Phytotherapy. A method based on the use of medicinal herbs. Infusions, decoctions contain a large amount of active substances that not only effectively support the sick body, but also have a pronounced therapeutic effect.

The treatment with natural factors in the sanatoriums is combined with physiotherapeutic methods, exercise therapy, dietary nutrition, observance of the daily routine. Spa programs are designed for all stages of joint disease.

Physical activity

In the recommendations for people with osteoarthritis, doctors advise to limit the load on the legs. It is worth stopping squatting, squatting and doing physical work more carefully in the house and in the garden. Do not strain the joint if you already feel pain (reduce the cardinal load). It is especially worth excluding running, jumping. However, you can't do without gymnastics.

In order for the joint to function, special exercises must be done. A person with osteoarthritis is definitely not suitable for the gymnastics of the "young" - with a fast pace, with increasing loads, with high intensity throughout the session. In the case of a diseased joint, gymnastics should be done extremely slowly, smoothly, measured, until discomfort or pain occurs. If there is pain - it is worth taking a break.

Therapeutic gymnastics allows you to normalize the condition of the muscles, to improve blood circulation in the joint, to provide it with adequate nutrition and to remove the products of decay and inflammation. Gymnastics helps the drugs to quickly enter a diseased joint and begin a therapeutic effect. The most difficult task of physiotherapy exercises is the correct dosing of the load. Too short a workout will not have a healing effect. And excessive stress will bring additional damage to the joint. Only the attending physician can give competent recommendations. They will depend on the patient's condition and the characteristics of the course of the disease in each case.

Nutrition in coxarthrosis

There are many reasons for the destruction of cartilage. Nutrition is of great importance in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip joint of 1, 2, 3 degrees. Today, the market is crowded with foods rich in preservatives. Attractive hams, smoked meats, sausages parading on the shelves contain a large number of specific components. The meat is processed with enzymes, active substances that speed up the production process and quickly get an attractive product. Preservatives increase the shelf life of any product: finished or raw, which can not but be widely used among manufacturers.

When eating food filled with preservatives, a person gets an excess of salt, which retains moisture. Salt is retained and accumulates in the cartilage tissue and the joints do not function. Such osteoarthritis is essentially a simple inflammation that responds well to therapy. And coxarthrosis, which arose against the background of metabolic disorders, metabolic insufficiency, intake of unhealthy food, requires adherence to diet. You do not need to strictly limit your food intake or give up a whole list of healthy foods. Just follow some simple rules:

• refuse any ready-made smoked meats from the store;
• exclude the consumption of concentrated broths;
• according to the method of cooking, give preference to cooking and stewing;
• completely exclude the consumption of salt, do not buy salted fish, sausages, canned foods;
• consume no more than 10-15 g of animal fat per day, prepare meals with the addition of various vegetable oils;
• monitor the calorie content of food, give up the so-called "fast" carbohydrates, sugar, confectionery;
• exclude mayonnaise from the diet, season salads and sauces with low-fat sour cream;
• exclude the consumption of alcoholic beverages;
• limit the consumption of oily fish, caviar.

Instead of smoked meat, buy natural meat, chickens raised on farms by local producers. It is better to cook the first dishes in vegetable broths without boiling vitamin-rich foods for several hours. The broth cubes popular today are almost 100% chemical. This is damage in its purest form.

you should not completely abandon cooked meat. But it is better to take pre-prepared lean pieces and put them in portions on a plate and only then pour the vegetable soup. Complete rejection of meat is an extreme.

An old recipe for maintaining bone and joint strength is jelly meat. Decades ago, when little was known about artificial preservatives, this was justified. Now such a product can only increase cholesterol.

Fresh fish has not been treated with preservatives before. But modern manufacturers have learned that as well. Today we can talk about the benefits of fish only if it comes to the counter directly from a fishing trawler or is bought alive.

Only by changing the principles of nutrition, a person can reduce the suffering of deforming osteoarthritis. The diet should include a large amount of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, fruits. Low fat dairy products, lean meat and chicken are useful. Rice, beets, potatoes, watermelon help remove salt from the body. Once a week it is recommended to organize fasting days of kefir, cottage cheese, fruits, herbal decoctions.